And so the Port Arthur saga continues… The mother of Martin Bryant this week revealed her manuscript was stolen and parts used by the authors of the book “Born or Bred” , without consent.
According to Carleen Bryant, she initially asked the two authors to ghost write “her side of the story”, but after seeing the angle they wanted to take, she pulled out.
One must wonder just why that happened..
source for this story:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,25422979-662,00.html
THE mother of Port Arthur gunman Martin Bryant is angry and upset over the publication of a book on her son.
Carleen Bryant said she did not consent to an interview and did not expect that material she gave the authors would be used.
But the authors of Born or Bred? Martin Bryant: the making of a mass murderer, former Sydney Morning Herald journalists Robert Wainwright and Paola Totaro, maintain Ms Bryant gave the information “freely” and without conditions.
Ms Bryant has been working on writing her memoir for many years, intending to tell her side of the story surrounding the life of son Martin Bryant, who is serving 35 consecutive life sentences for murdering 35 people at Port Arthur in 1996.
She said because she was not confident about her writing ability, she initially met Wainwright and Totaro in June 2007 to discuss enlisting their services as ghost writers or co-authors.
“I wanted to tell my story, I just needed someone else working with me to craft the words,” Ms Bryant said.
“I needed, as a mother, to be able to tell my story about Martin but no amount of money would have interested me in the way they wanted to write my book.”
Ms Bryant’s literary agent, Pippa Masson from Curtis Brown in Sydney, introduced her to Wainwright and Totaro as possible authors for her story.
In June 2007 the couple flew to Hobart and met Ms Bryant.
Ms Bryant said she did not consent to being interviewed and was only present to meet the authors and discuss how they might proceed.
After discussing the work and the approach she wanted to take, Ms Bryant said she gave the two authors a copy of her manuscript so they could prepare a sample piece of writing for her to view.
Ms Bryant said she was not happy with the sample and opted to pull out, requesting the return of her manuscript.
It was eventually returned.
Last week , Wainwright and Totaro released a book about Martin, focusing on his family history, upbringing and other psychological and mental health issues.
Wainwright and Totaro do not deny they have used sections of Ms Bryant’s manuscript, the relevant passages clearly identified.
Carleen is speaking the truth,I live in the U.K
We write regularly I have letters from Carleen letting me know what is happening over in Tasmania,she is writing a book to tell her side of Martins family life etc.not for gain as some greedy people do.I myself could have made a fortune with photos etc.There is more to life than making money at the grief of all those victims at Port Arthur.Life is priceless. Many lies were in the press all over the world concerning the Bryant family.I kept quiet as it would only lead to more stories for the press.Martin was doomed long before he got to court.I could not recognise the man I knew, as in my eyes he was so kind and especially with animals.True he was slow,he repeated most things,asked the same questions over and over.He was gorgeous looking.not like the digitaly altered.Just remember this could have been your son.Did Martin have a fair trial.someone out there knows the truth
Hi Betty, I believe in my heart that Martin is also innocent.
My heart goes out to him and has since day one.
What on earth can be done about this surely someone out there could reach out and raise this until Martin receives justice.
Martin has suffered for way to long and I often wonder how Carleen has managed through all this??